Three recent commercial consultancy projects have highlighted how TUV SUD NEL, as a National Measurement Institute, applies its knowledge and expertise to ensure best practice in industrial measurement.

The projects involved assessing the performance of a transport metering system, approving a mobile prover system, and testing the flow calculations used in an online flow metering software package.

“As the holder of the UK’s National Standards for flow measurement, we are one of the foremost authorities on flow measurement technology in the world today,” says CFD Team Manager, Marc Laing. “This places us firmly at the top of the audit chain and means that we can provide expert, impartial advice, as we did in all of these projects.”

“The transport metering work involved an assessment of a turbine meter to investigate possible discrepancies in its operation,” says Marc. “The meter is used as part of the custody transfer chain in a refinery. We were able to pin-point the problem and suggest the best approach to fix the system.”

Marc’s work involved a pre-audit of the metering system’s piping and instrumentation, its instrument datasheets and master meter proving data. Historical data was also reviewed and a new meter prove was witnessed on site.

“We employed our expertise in flow measurement, fluid mechanics, proving techniques and meter operation, says Marc. “Our comprehensive knowledge of the correct functioning of all major metering technology meant that we were able to give focused, practical advice.”

The mobile prover system assessed by the team at TUV SUD NEL comprised an array of ultrasonic meters mounted on a trailer. It was designed to be transportable between sites and to be used to approve a variety of fiscal metering systems.

“We validated the overall design as an independent third party,” says Flow Measurement Engineer, Chris Mills. “We assessed the system against the American Petroleum Institute (API) Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards and used our own experience of best practice in measurement standards and our knowledge of flow measurement, ultra-sonic mass meters, regulations and standards.”

The software project involved the numerical testing of flow calculations used in an online Flow Measurement Calculation and Verification Engine for a company that provides flow metering computer systems.

“We ran a series of numerical tests that compared the results produced by the software against a standard calculation in which there is a very high degree of confidence,” says Business Leader for Flow Assurance, Alick MacGillivray. “This allowed us to help the client to ensure best practice in both measurement and standard calculation procedures.”